Latest news with #MortonWilliams
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's which grocery store items will get more expensive because of tariffs
President Donald Trump, during his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, called groceries an 'old-fashioned' and 'beautiful term.' But his policies will make America's groceries more expensive today, supermarket executives and food industry experts say. Supermarkets sell imported items in every section of the store: from fresh and packaged foods to household basics. Trump instituted 10% tariffs across all countries last Saturday. US businesses shipping goods from overseas will pay for those tariffs, and they will pass some of the higher costs down to consumers. Shoppers can expect to see prices rise on seafood, coffee, fruit, cheese, nuts, candy bars and other imported foods, according to experts. Items that contain ingredients and packaging like plastic and aluminum from other countries will also be hit. Perishable food prices will rise first, followed by shelf-stable goods. Customers may also see smaller-sized products, known as shrinkflation, and find that certain versions of items have been eliminated as companies try to offset their cost hikes from tariffs. Customers can expect grocery prices to increase 'in the next couple of weeks,' said John Ross, the CEO of IGA, a chain of independent grocery stores. 'Shoppers will start seeing it at scale across the store in the next 90 days.' Food prices will rise 2.8% overall from Trump's tariffs, including 4% for fresh produce, Yale University's Budget Lab estimates. The cost burden will hit lower-income shoppers, who spend a greater share of their income on essentials, the hardest. The scale of the price hikes will also depend on the size of the companies. Prices at smaller grocers, which have less flexibility to absorb higher costs than giant chains like Walmart and Costco, may rise faster. Big food suppliers such as Campbell and Kraft Heinz also have more flexibility to manage tariffs than smaller producers. But few companies will be spared from the effects. 'It appears that the small distributors are reacting a lot more quickly,' said Steve Schwartz, the director of sales and marketing at grocery chain Morton Williams. Small distributors have less supply on hand and will raise prices first, while larger companies with more inventory in warehouses can wait longer, Schwartz said. For example, one Italian importer that supplies olive oil and balsamic vinegar notified Morton Williams of a 20% price increase next month. Randy Arceneaux, the CEO Affiliated Foods, a wholesaler in Amarillo, Texas servicing around 700 independent grocery stores in eight states, said that most suppliers are still waiting to see what happens with tariffs. But that's not the case with all Affiliated Food's suppliers —several have already notified the company of price increases because of tariffs, including bananas and canned tuna, as well as plastic utensils. Affiliated Foods sources bananas from Guatemala, where Trump implemented a 10% tariff. Affiliated Foods' distributor notified the company that a 10% price increase will go into effect next week. This will increase Affiliated Foods' costs by 4 cents per banana case, from $1.80 to $1.84, which will be passed on to shoppers. The foods Americans eat are part of a complicated global supply chain, with much of the growing impossible to replicate stateside because of climate and crop conditions. Food that can't be grown locally will see the biggest rise in prices. Currently, the US imports approximately 17% of all food and beverages consumed by Americans, but it varies dramatically by category. For example, around 80% of seafood, 80% of coffee, 59% of fresh fruit and 35% of vegetables consumed in the United States are imported, according to the Department of Agriculture. 'Our food system is intricately linked with global markets − including products not grown in the United States like bananas or seasonal items − which helps keep prices down while providing American shoppers year-round access to safe, nutritious food,' Leslie Sarasin, the president of food industry group FMI, said in a statement last week. But one major factor that could limit price increases is that Mexico and Canada were left off Trump's latest tariff list. Mexico and Canada are the two largest agricultural suppliers to the United States, according to the Agriculture Department. The White House has slapped 25% tariffs on those countries, but most food and agricultural products are exempt from tariffs under the existing USMCA free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Grocery prices already frustrated customers before tariffs. Trump said he won the 2024 election in large part due to the price of groceries. Grocery prices overall have increased around 23% since 2021, with prices on individual items like coffee and chocolate rising much faster. That's caused shoppers to pull back. PepsiCo, Campbell and JM Smucker reported weak sales of their snack brands in recent earnings announcements, and tariffs will likely only accelerate the slowdown. PepsiCo, the owner of Frito-Lay, said last month that people bought 3% fewer snacks last quarter. 'Salty and savory snack categories underperformed' the broader packaged food industry, PepsiCo said, citing the 'cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures and higher borrowing costs on consumer budgets.' Household staples, such as dish detergent, paper towels and cosmetics, have also seen a slowdown in recent weeks, according to market research firm Circana. 'Some consumers are moving away from discretionary spending' at the grocery store, said Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana's chief advisor for the consumer goods and food service industries. More shoppers are taking quicker, smaller trips to stores, and switching to stores' cheaper private-label brands, she said. These are signs that customers are watching their budgets more carefully. Customers 'are still showing that willingness to spend, but they're being very choiceful where they're spending,' Costco finance chief Gary Millerchip said last month. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
09-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
Coffee, seafood and fruit: Tariffs will make your groceries more expensive
President Donald Trump, during his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, called groceries an 'old-fashioned' and 'beautiful term.' But his policies will make America's groceries more expensive today, supermarket executives and food industry experts say. Supermarkets sell imported items in every section of the store: from fresh and packaged foods to household basics. Trump instituted 10% tariffs across all countries last Saturday and slapped higher reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries and trading blocs today. US businesses shipping goods from overseas will pay for those tariffs, and they will pass some of the higher costs down to consumers. Shoppers can expect to see prices rise on seafood, coffee, fruit, cheese, nuts, candy bars and other imported foods, according to experts. Items that contain ingredients and packaging like plastic and aluminum from other countries will also be hit. Perishable food prices will rise first, followed by shelf-stable goods. Customers may also see smaller-sized products, known as shrinkflation, and find that certain versions of items have been eliminated as companies try to offset their cost hikes from tariffs. Customers can expect grocery prices to increase 'in the next couple of weeks,' said John Ross, the CEO of IGA, a chain of independent grocery stores. 'Shoppers will start seeing it at scale across the store in the next 90 days.' Food prices will rise 2.8% overall from Trump's tariffs, including 4% for fresh produce, Yale University's Budget Lab estimates. The cost burden will hit lower-income shoppers, who spend a greater share of their income on essentials, the hardest. The scale of the price hikes will also depend on the size of the companies. Prices at smaller grocers, which have less flexibility to absorb higher costs than giant chains like Walmart and Costco, may rise faster. Big food suppliers such as Campbell and Kraft Heinz also have more flexibility to manage tariffs than smaller producers. But few companies will be spared from the effects. 'It appears that the small distributors are reacting a lot more quickly,' said Steve Schwartz, the director of sales and marketing at grocery chain Morton Williams. Small distributors have less supply on hand and will raise prices first, while larger companies with more inventory in warehouses can wait longer, Schwartz said. For example, one Italian importer that supplies olive oil and balsamic vinegar notified Morton Williams of a 20% price increase next month. Randy Arceneaux, the CEO Affiliated Foods, a wholesaler in Amarillo, Texas servicing around 700 independent grocery stores in eight states, said that most suppliers are still waiting to see what happens with tariffs. But that's not the case with all Affiliated Food's suppliers —several have already notified the company of price increases because of tariffs, including bananas and canned tuna, as well as plastic utensils. Affiliated Foods sources bananas from Guatemala, where Trump implemented a 10% tariff. Affiliated Foods' distributor notified the company that a 10% price increase will go into effect next week. This will increase Affiliated Foods' costs by 4 cents per banana case, from $1.80 to $1.84, which will be passed on to shoppers. The foods Americans eat are part of a complicated global supply chain, with much of the growing impossible to replicate stateside because of climate and crop conditions. Food that can't be grown locally will see the biggest rise in prices. Currently, the US imports approximately 17% of all food and beverages consumed by Americans, but it varies dramatically by category. For example, around 80% of seafood, 80% of coffee, 59% of fresh fruit and 35% of vegetables consumed in the United States are imported, according to the Department of Agriculture. 'Our food system is intricately linked with global markets − including products not grown in the United States like bananas or seasonal items − which helps keep prices down while providing American shoppers year-round access to safe, nutritious food,' Leslie Sarasin, the president of food industry group FMI, said in a statement last week. But one major factor that could limit price increases is that Mexico and Canada were left off Trump's latest tariff list. Mexico and Canada are the two largest agricultural suppliers to the United States, according to the Agriculture Department. The White House has slapped 25% tariffs on those countries, but most food and agricultural products are exempt from tariffs under the existing USMCA free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Grocery prices already frustrated customers before tariffs. Trump said he won the 2024 election in large part due to the price of groceries. Grocery prices overall have increased around 23% since 2021, with prices on individual items like coffee and chocolate rising much faster. That's caused shoppers to pull back. PepsiCo, Campbell and JM Smucker reported weak sales of their snack brands in recent earnings announcements, and tariffs will likely only accelerate the slowdown. PepsiCo, the owner of Frito-Lay, said last month that people bought 3% fewer snacks last quarter. 'Salty and savory snack categories underperformed' the broader packaged food industry, PepsiCo said, citing the 'cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures and higher borrowing costs on consumer budgets.' Household staples, such as dish detergent, paper towels and cosmetics, have also seen a slowdown in recent weeks, according to market research firm Circana. 'Some consumers are moving away from discretionary spending' at the grocery store, said Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana's chief advisor for the consumer goods and food service industries. More shoppers are taking quicker, smaller trips to stores, and switching to stores' cheaper private-label brands, she said. These are signs that customers are watching their budgets more carefully. Customers 'are still showing that willingness to spend, but they're being very choiceful where they're spending,' Costco finance chief Gary Millerchip said last month.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Egg shortage leads to odd pricing disparity with cage-free costing less than regular
The nationwide egg shortage that has resulted in sticker shock for millions of shoppers at grocery stores is even more bizarre in New York City, where organic, cage-free cartons, typically more expensive, now cost less than a regular dozen in some stores. At the Morton Williams grocery chain, a dozen white, regular eggs from an in-store brand were going for $9.99 this week, the New York Post reported. Meanwhile, a carton of Land O'Lakes brown eggs, which are produced "without hormones, steroids or antibiotics," cost just $5.59. The chain's Midtown location had other organic and cage-free varieties selling for under $10, including $5.69 for a dozen of Eggland's Best "vegetarian-fed hens" eggs. Shelling Out: Egg Prices Rise Nearly 37 Percent One reason for the strange pricing is that organic, free-range egg farms, which have also been hit by the avian flu, have been honoring lower-priced distribution contracts, according to Joe Viscomi, assistant director of operations for Morton Williams. Many of those contracts are expected to expire in the coming weeks, meaning prices could soon skyrocket past $10 for a dozen, he said. Read On The Fox News App "The disparity of the cost of organic brown and cage-free eggs versus conventional eggs is closing fast," Viscomi said. The outbreak has resulted in the slaughter of millions of hens in an effort to curb the spread, resulting in higher egg prices. Swalwell Slammed On Social Media For Questioning How Trump Will Lower Grocery Prices "I would not bet on a May recovery" as some experts have predicted, Matt Sutton-Vermeulen, principal in the agriculture and food practice at consulting firm Kearney told the newspaper. Throughout New York, many bodegas have raised prices on eggs. Some NYC shoppers are looking for a deal. The Bryant Park Whole Foods in Midtown is selling a dozen premium eggs for $4.69 this week, the Post reported. Some businesses are taking other steps to offset the price increases. The Waffle House, a Southern breakfast food chain, began a temporary 50-cent-per-egg surcharge to all of its menus Monday. The company blamed the ongoing egg shortage caused by bird flu, saying, "consumers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions." It plans to monitor egg prices and "will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow."Original article source: Egg shortage leads to odd pricing disparity with cage-free costing less than regular
